dantyti (u/dantyti) - Readit News

dantyti commented on 1-800-ChatGPT help.openai.com/en/articl... · Posted by u/yzydserd

stevenj · 8 months ago

Your comment made me lol. And it’s very rare for that to happen to me via reading text. And I needed it today. So I just wanted to tell you thank you and I hope you have a good day.

dantyti · 8 months ago

> Your comment made me lol. And it’s very rare for that to happen to me via reading text.

If anyone else reading this is in a place like you've described, try 1900hotdog.com

dantyti commented on Kagi Teams blog.kagi.com/kagi-teams... · Posted by u/icar

sshine · 9 months ago

Two years with Kagi, I never visit Google once.

When I install Linux on a new computer, I install Firefox from its package manager, log in with Firefox Sync, and this switches my default search engine to Kagi. So I never once visit Google, not even to download Firefox.

I just tried going to Google, and it is simultaneously satisfying and saddening to be met with a cookie disclaimer pop-up: Saddening because I'm reminded that ubiquitous search access comes at the cost of tracking, and satisfying because I never once visited Google on this one-year old computer (after which the pop-up disappears).

dantyti · 9 months ago

>search access comes at the cost of tracking

don't you have your identity (through payments) tied with every search query you make when using kagi?

dantyti commented on The correct amount of ads is zero manuelmoreale.com/the-cor... · Posted by u/surprisetalk

danpalmer · 9 months ago

> The correct amount of ads for a publication that’s directly supported is zero.

I basically agree with this sentiment, but one place where it can be a tricky balance (not saying that's the case here!) is "native advertising".

For example, a new game is being released, the publisher collaborates with TheBrink, a hypothetical popular game news site, and for this they get a huge takeover banner advert for the week, increased placement on ad units around the site, a "behind the scenes" post written about the game, and an interview with the developers published to TheBrink's YouTube channel. This type of package is absolutely a thing that gets sold.

Which bits of this are ads? Well the behind the scenes post and interview could theoretically have been produced anyway, they're within the scope of the site, but in this case they weren't prioritised, certainly not for launch day, it was only by the whole collaboration being paid for that they got made. Are they ads? Yes they are ads. How would a loyal subscriber feel about those parts being hidden from them though? I imagine they would be miffed about that.

Native advertising like this has a whole spectrum of quality and the worst native ads are very explicitly ads that have no value to typical readers. However "good" native ads are really just a company paying for priority reporting in the style that would otherwise be done anyway, and are probably content that readers/viewers want.

How do you resolve this? No idea. If I were paying I'd want to see that content assuming it's good quality. Others would not on the basis of bias or a more philosophical opposition to ads.

dantyti · 9 months ago

> However "good" native ads are really just a company paying for priority reporting in the style that would otherwise be done anyway, and are probably content that readers/viewers want.

That's akin to saying a person wants some of that "good" cancer.

If I am paying, I am supporting the editorial staff. It's their decision what to report on and how. Paid-for content, even if it's just for priority coverage, compromises the integrity of the editorial staff as well as their ability to curate (not to mention a clear disincentive to be critical of the ad buyer's claims).

It starts when TheBrink publishes a high quality behind the scenes piece about a scam mobile game instead of a truly great indie game just because the latter is not as profitable and cannot afford to buy the ad.

It ends with the entire catalogue of the publication being paid for by advertisers. Much like some influencer's instagram feed. Paying for access to an ad feed is unacceptible.

To add: "the firewall" between the editorial and business sides of a publication is the basic prerequisite for ethical journalism, even if it's an entertainment rag. Advertising that masquarades as reporting is therefore the worst and most toxic, i.e., cancerous, of the bunch.

So I do not agree that native ads are something that should be desired.

dantyti commented on Russia's Dead Drop Drug Revolution globalinitiative.net/anal... · Posted by u/nkko

diego_moita · 9 months ago

This confluence of organized crime, dark web and cryptocurrencies is happening everywhere, not only Russia:

https://www.economist.com/international/2024/11/26/the-world...

dantyti · 9 months ago

from tfa:

>Russian darknet markets control 93% of the global share, generating approximately $1.5 billion in revenue in 2023 alone

dantyti commented on Russia's Dead Drop Drug Revolution globalinitiative.net/anal... · Posted by u/nkko

dkenyser · 9 months ago

People have been using Crypto to buy drugs since its earliest days, people have been using the darknet to sell and distribute drugs since its earliest days, and people have been using dead drops to transfer drugs and other illegal goods since the dawn of organized crime.

None of this is new, or unique to Russia.

dantyti · 9 months ago

from tfa: > Russian darknet markets control 93% of the global share, generating approximately $1.5 billion in revenue in 2023 alone

does seem very relevant to expose Russia's outsized influence.

dantyti commented on Relativty: An open-source VR headset for $200 relativty.com/... · Posted by u/LorenDB

manfre · 9 months ago

All of our time has a value.

dantyti · 9 months ago

And building something yourself could be the most valuable way to spend it. For some, it might even be the only respite from the monetization of the entire human experience, i.e., beyond priceless

dantyti commented on Relativty: An open-source VR headset for $200 relativty.com/... · Posted by u/LorenDB

paxys · 9 months ago

It isn't a $200 headset. It's a headset you have to build yourself (including 3D printing and soldering) with $200 worth of parts. Huge difference between the two.

dantyti · 9 months ago

Indeed, some people would value a device they'd built themselves at way beyond any monetary number.

Most shockingly, someone might feel that such a device was better than free, more satisfactory and empowering than anything $200 and a ton of time wasted on side hustling could buy!

dantyti commented on Meta's AI Abundance stratechery.com/2024/meta... · Posted by u/robenkleene

dantyti · 10 months ago

>the more of a black box Meta’s advertising becomes the better the advertising results, even as Meta makes more margin

this one screams 'citation needed' and is not what I'm hearing from people in the field. Would anyone care to share their experience?

dantyti commented on 50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Paid Scientists to Point Blame at Fat (2016) npr.org/sections/thetwo-w... · Posted by u/Tomte

bun_terminator · 10 months ago

advertising companies still pretending (and pushing the idea) that ads work

dantyti · 10 months ago

tbf, they still work, but my educated guess would be that the overall ROI distribution looks similar to the gambling/adult industries: a minority of the population bringing in an outsized return due to peculiarities in how their brains work